Finance Committee Meeting — Minutes

1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 1 Monday, July 27, 2026, 10 A.M. 2 (Approved) 3 4 1. Call to Order 5 Chairperson Brigid White called t he Finance Committee Meeting to order on Monday July 27, 2026, at 6 10:19 AM at the Sister Bay Liberty Grove Fire Station, 2258 Mill Road, Sister Bay, WI. The late start was 7 due to internet outage at the Fire Station. 8 9 2. Roll Call 10 Present: Chairperson Brigid White, Terry Kelly, Louise Howson, and Mike Laszkiewicz. Andy Woerfel 11 excused. 12 13 Others: Administrator Ben Andrews, Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges, Financial Specialist/Treasurer 14 Vlad Gannik, John Lijewski, Terry Wolf, Lisa O’Hearn, Patrice Champeau. Zoom: Jennifer Engel, Baird. 15 16 3. Approve Agenda 17 Motion to approve the agenda was made by Howson and seconded by Kelly. Motion carried — all ayes. 18 19 4. Approve Meeting Minutes 20 a.) July 13, 2026; Joint Finance-Village Board Meeting 21 Motion to approve July 13, 2026 regular meeting minutes as presented was made by Kelly and seconded 22 by Laszkiewicz. Motion carried — all ayes. 23 24 b) July 13, 2026; Regular Meeting 25 Motion to approve July 13, 2026 regular meeting minutes as presented was made by Laszkiewicz and 26 seconded by Howson. Motion carried — all ayes. 27 28 5. Discussion/Action Items 29 a. Sister Bay Historical Society – Request for Village Contribution; Little Sister Barn 30 John Lijewski presented the Historical Society's request for a $750,000 Village contribution, to be funded 31 over multiple years, toward the Little Sister Barn project. The Society outlined its $6 million fundraising 32 campaign and stated construction will not begin until 80% of the funds have been secured. Trustee 33 Champeau also requested increasing the Village's annual Historical Society contribution from $15,000 to 34 $30,000 beginning in 2027. 35 36 The committee discussed the project's community and tourism benefits, while also expressing concerns 37 regarding Village financial capacity, competing capital priorities, and the legal authority to contribute 38 public funds to a private nonprofit. Members agreed the request should not be considered for the 2027 39 budget but could remain part of future Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) discussions. 40 Administrator Andrews emphasized that inclusion in the CIP does not constitute funding approval. 41 42 Action Items 43 • Consult the Village Attorney regarding legal authority for contributions to nonprofit. 44 • Keep the request as a standing CIP discussion item. 45 • Request additional information from the Historical Society as needed. 46 47 Minutes of the July 27, 2026, Meeting of the Finance Committee - Approved 2 b. 2027 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 1 Jennifer (Baird & Associates) provided a preliminary update on the Village's capital reserve reconciliation. 2 A written report will follow due to technical issues during the presentation. 3 Treasurer Gannik confirmed capital reserve balances reconcile with the general ledger at approximately 4 $6.86 million. The review identified opportunities to better designate reserve accounts and develop a 5 policy for allocating interest earnings. 6 7 The committee agreed that reserve funds should remain dedicated to their intended purposes unless 8 formally reallocated by the Village Board and supported adding quarterly capital project updates as a 9 standing Finance Committee agenda item. 10 11 The committee reviewed the draft 2027 CIP, including: 12 • Maintaining a lower projected levy than 2026. 13 • Deferring waterfront playground improvements to 2028. 14 • Keeping Village Hall engineering in 2028. 15 • Confirming other previously deferred projects. 16 17 Action Items 18 • Receive Baird's written reconciliation report. 19 • Develop a reserve interest allocation policy. 20 • Verify Parks Building Demolition reserves. 21 • Update Highway 57 Trail and Marina restroom cost estimates. 22 • Provide Parks Committee with a road project update. 23 • Add quarterly capital project status reports to future agendas. 24 25 c. 2027 Budget – Preliminary Review 26 Andrews introduced the preliminary 2027 budget and noted updated personnel figures will be 27 incorporated into the next draft. 28 Treasurer Gannik reported that current assessed values would allow approximately $55,000 in additional 29 levy capacity while maintaining the current mill rate. Committee members emphasized that additional 30 capacity should not automatically result in increased spending and reiterated the goal of controlling the 31 tax rate. 32 33 Discussion included: 34 • Reviewing actual prior-year expenditures rather than prior budgets when preparing department 35 budgets. 36 • Monitoring General Government expenditures. 37 • Marina staffing levels and long-term financial sustainability. 38 • Preparing a comprehensive Village debt schedule. 39 40 Final state assessment figures are expected by August 15, with a more complete budget draft to be 41 reviewed on August 31. 42 43 Action Items 44 • Incorporate updated HR budgeting information. 45 • Prepare a comprehensive debt schedule. 46 • Research regional water and wastewater rates. 47 • Department heads to submit revised budgets based on actual expenditures. 48 Minutes of the July 27, 2026, Meeting of the Finance Committee - Approved 3 • Discuss Marina staffing at a future Marina Committee meeting. 1 2 7. Staff Reports/Updates 3 Gannik reported receiving a funding request from the Northern Door Children's Center for consideration 4 during the 2027 budget process. 5 6 Andrews reported that the Village ended 2025 with an approximately $40,000 General Fund surplus, 7 assisted by a TIF transfer and debt service adjustments. 8 9 8. Future Agenda Items 10 • Propane for Village facilities. 11 • Legal review of potential Village contributions to the Historical Society. 12 13 9. Next Meeting 14 The next Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 31, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. 15 16 10. Adjourn 17 A motion to adjourn was at 1:16 p.m. was made by Laszkiewicz and seconded by Howson. The motion 18 carried — all ayes. 19 20 Minutes submitted by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 21